Please let me know if this should be in /r/legaladvice or if it is appropriate here.
So, backstory. I spent a fair amount of my twenties making absolutely horrible financial decisions, many of which I can't remember. Last year, I made a resolution to go back and start making things right with my credit, paying off old debts on my credit report from smallest to largest and have made good headway.
I (stupidly) opened a credit card in mid 2008, and never made more than a couple payments on it. The limit on the card was around $800, as I remember. I have not made efforts to begin paying this one back yet. I've had many addresses since opening that card, and the most recent address that they have for me is from an apartment I lived in more than three years ago in a different state. I haven't received correspondence from them since I can even remember. Today, I get a call from an agency called Multi State Recovery (couldn't find anything on Google), they say they are calling on behalf of CHASE Bank, who are trying to sue for $6k+ on the grounds of failure of communication and fraud, and will be filing paperwork tomorrow for wage garnishment.
I asked if they were willing to settle out of court, and was told that yes, they would settle for $1,000. This is great news to me! Another opportunity to continue fixing old mistakes. I ask if I could pay the balance over a few payments, and was told that that would be possible. The lady started asking for my bank information and when my next pay day was. I told her when my next pay day was, but that I wasn't going to give her any bank information without at least some sort of official correspondence, be it email, paper mail, etc. since I hadn't heard anything since moving out of state 3 years ago. Just something with a letterhead, as I don't just give out my bank account info to random people who call me, even if they do have the last four of my social and a reference to a real debt. She told me that once I give her my bank information (routing number, account number) and set up payment plan draft dates, a letter is generated that will be mailed to me, but she couldn't send me anything before then. This is where I started getting suspicious. They did have the last four of my social, and the correct dates of when I opened that credit card, but just how legit is this? She agreed and that she is cautious with her own finances, and pays all of her bills with prepaid credit cards from WalMart (really??), and that if I wanted security then I could get a prepaid card and give her that information. WTF? She agreed to put a 24 hour hold on the paperwork to go ahead with the legal action.
I do not want my wages garnished, I want to pay this real debt off, but why do I feel like there are so many red flags here? What can I say to them when I talk to them tomorrow that will give me a little more confidence that I'm not getting totally scammed? Please advise, and thanks in advance!!
Submitted March 07, 2017 at 02:09AM by deal_maker84 http://ift.tt/2lz8Atg
